Calendar: Discussed the date in English and Spanish. Lucas is the new calendar and meteorologist for this week. He put the numbers on the calendar, discussed the pattern and weather and found the day of the week in Spanish. He read the sight words and numbers in English and Spanish. Lucas then helped us review our Spanish and Sign language.

Fun Facts/Brainstorming: Reviewed what the children learned about Sea Turtles. The children told me what they know about Jellyfish or Plankton. Discussed: What might you see floating in the ocean? Jellyfish are also plankton. Plankton live in lakes and oceans. Plankton make up the first layer of the oceanic food chain. Only bacteria outnumber plankton. Plankton outweigh all the sea animals. Fish larva start off life as plankton as they are ‘drifters.’ Jellyfish: Some jellyfish are bigger than a human and others are as small as a pinhead. People in some countries eat jellyfish. Jellyfish have been on Earth for millions of years, even before dinosaurs. They have no brain but do have some kind of eyes. Jellyfish are mainly made up of water and protein? A group of jellyfish is called a smack? Jellyfish are plankton and are not strong swimmers, so they are at the mercy of the ocean currents. Blooms often form where two currents meet and if there is an onshore breeze thousands of jellyfish can be beached. Most of them live less than one year, and some of the smallest may live only a few days. Jellyfish eat many different types of things, such as small plants, copepods, fish eggs and other small fish called larvae; they also eat the planktonic eggs and young stages of many different kinds of marine animals. Some jellyfish even eat other jellyfish. When jellyfish form blooms they eat almost everything in the water.

Science: Discussed: Where do you think sea animals find food to eat? We then set animal photo cards face down and the letter cards face up on the floor and had the children flip over an animal card and choose the letter card that matches.

Creative Development: Discussed: How do you think jellyfish could be dangerous? Explained that jellyfish use their tentacles to sting their prey. The poison paralyzes the victims. Children explored the shower caps. How do you wear them? How do they act when they put them on? They will use the shower caps to make a jellyfish in afternoon centers.

Mathematics and Reasoning: Discussed: Who do you think eats plankton? Plankton are tiny floating creatures that are a food source for many fish and mammals in the ocean. The children tossed bits of paper into the air and watched them drift to the floor. We left the paper bits on the floor and called out a color. The children pretended to be fish and gathered the pieces. They then counted the pieces to see if they had collected more or less than 8 pieces.

Language and Literacy: Discussed: How do you think jellyfish move? Jellyfish are actually a type of plankton. All types of plankton float or drift in the water. Jellyfish can also pulse their bodies to move them through the water. The children tossed plastic bags back and forth with a partner. They discussed what they noticed with the bag. We used a water bottle to add water, pieces of plastic bag and glitter too. Then we shook the bottle and watched the particles drift, float or sink. They then described what they saw. What looks like a jellyfish? Plankton?

Afternoon Centers:Center 1- Jellyfish Hat. Took a plastic shower cap and attached “tentacles” by using curling ribbon. Taped them on the inside to make it look like different sizes of tentacles on a Jellyfish. The children then wore the hats and pretended to be Jellyfish and drifted around the room. Center 2- My Little Journal – The children practiced writing the number 8 on wipe off boards. They then practiced writing the number 8 on the Journal page. They drew a large Jellyfish and added 8 tentacles to it.